-^■IS'' 


m"*^ 


'|i4'iiPii.ii.ilii>iii«" '»' ,  iiif  lijii-  -ifai ,  iiiiji  I  fci  Hi   I'lii'm 


S    P^ 


'  ':■  ^  "^■. 


BY 


« 


I'" «'.... -i.j.. 


908TQJr!  K.  R  mvms  *  CO. 
MtKI>lgEIOi<i»^^^l||.  UlLLKBi 


wail  yjt^^sfpm^j  celebriited  to,;*rr  ehordies,  and 

never  <»idl^l»jr  any  ass^QlW 

soever:  iii^oitta^li,  l^iM  ^Btt#  Wi^piervecl,  out 

of€%^et)9tQio,  tliat  ^jattOay  w«r  imdfe^tly,  among 

ottiei^  fti^^  oafted  dmmrn^  *  Hie  day  of  breadr 

be^^iae  Me.^e|ii^  of  bread  Wli9  90  ffen^^  a 

4ii%»^M»,  vd.  v«  Boo|i  :snr.  ell*  1^  90<^  ii. 


-""";"4J'^*'?j''^     ,.;,     ,,_,|^H, 


ffCPLi.wiftiirit  f  u.«"fii 


,3; 


iliiii^irinfni  i>rr'lTr--T^'rm-^ 


I'.Hft.'i'llli  iK" ■»» 


. — __-- __„-.-- — ^^     ^'13^.     ^^T^iEzr,  ■' '  '' 


r-?     >      J     "in^'- 


•■"^f^ 


.^i":e^ 


V16U 


DIES   PANIS. 


BY 

THEODORE    EDWARD    DOAVLING, 

lltrtor  of   goucjb!^, 
DIOCESE    OE    EnEDEJtlCTOy. 


**  On  tlie  Lord's  Day  it  [the  Holy  Communion  j 
was  universtilly  celcbnited  in  all  cluirc^hes,  and  nev(^r 
omitted  by  any  assembly  of  Christirins  whatsoever: 
insomucli,  tlnit  some  have  observed,  out  ot'Chrysos- 
tom,  that  Sunday  was  anciently,  anion«i^  other  name:*, 
called  dies  pants,  '  the  day  ot*  ]>read ; '  because  the; 
breaking  of,  brjMuJ  was  so  .general  a^- custom,  in  tii« 
Ohurcli,  Ob  ,tht\v  vlay."  —  hlnuhnrn's  li^nttquUie^.,  v<>!.  v. 
Jiook  XV.  (ill.  iKi  s'^ol.  iiJ  -        .        :  1:  ■    •     >  :    :  .  ' 


« 


• 


• 


PRINTED    BY    HENRY    A.    CROPLE^^, 
Queen  St.,  Fkedericton,  N.  B* 

1867* 


'*!('m» 


tf.^- 


1        h 


1     w 


.  ■'■  .;ma-'J''V-o<^i   ^?MA:mtt  :v:U}a0^u\: 

"*  '■■"■  "■■  '      '        '  ■  ■  ■  ■  • 

"  If  worldly  people  ask  you  why  you  commun^cjvfo 
so  often,  tell  them  that  it  is  to  learn  to  love  GoD;  io 
be  purified  from  your  imperfections ;  to  be  deliveretl 
from  your  miseries;  to  be  consoled  in  your  afflic- 
tions; to  be  supported  in  your  weakness.  Tell  them 
that  two  classes  of  persons  ought  to  communicate 
often  :  the  perfect,  because,  being  welli  disponed, 
they  would  do  very  wrong  not  to  approach  the 
source  and  fountain  of  perfection  ;  and  the  imper- 
fect, in  order  to  be  able  to  aspire  justly  to  perfec- 
tion ;  the  strong,  in  order  that  they  may  not  become 
Aveak ;  and  the  weak,  that  they  may  become  ^^^'ong; 
the  sick,  to  be  cured;  and  the  healthy,  not  to  fall  into 
sickness ;  and  that  you,  being  imperfect,  weak,  and 
ill,  have  need  to  communicate  often  with  your  per- 
fection, your  strength,  and  your  doctor.  Tell  them 
that  those  who  have  not  many  worldly  affairs,  ought 
to  commujiicHte  o/ten,  b^ecau^e.they  l^a\;e^yie  oprjor- 
tiinif;^;!  im(/'yiosieIv/5ib*lvi*'V*maw3f  w»i5d{y  affairs* 
oil  gilt  Co  to^jjimiliJiJAfe  Often/ fiecifii|dtiicy -stand  in 
nee"dt)flf;  and  thaf  he  whdlaUolfi^  ihhch'fttight  also 

td  JHvrtake  oi'iboti  Jthat  ia  solid,  fiud  ii kHmeutly.^' 
•      .  • !   •      . .    J  •    •        .      •  • .  ^  •   •  ^7 

■■•'I       ♦       •»         »*•«•-         ••  •       •       ^  m  *  »»4 


«».» 'i'.'f'T 


PREFACE.     >: 

The  following  extracts  on  the  Fre- 
quency OF  THE  Celebration  of  the 
Holy  Communion,  from  the  shelves  of 
a  small  library,  are  not  intended  for 
Non-Communicants.  They  were  orig- 
inally prepared  as  material  for  dis- 
cussion at  a  Kural  Deanery  Meeting 
in  the  Diocese  of  F^ederictpn.  ^i  > 

If  not  asked  in  the  same  words,  many 
earnest  Communicants  often  search  in 
vain  for  a  satisfactory  answer  to  the 
question,  "How  often  shall  I  coaimuni- 

In  some  Parish  Churches  the  Holy 
Communion  is  celebrated  on  the  three 
great  Festivals   of  Christmas,  Easter, 

(3) 


4  KlEJ'ACE. 

and  Whitsunday  alone.  A  tri-anniial 
celebration  is  the  least  that  the  Church 
of  England  allows.  The  last  quarter 
of  a  century  has  neen  a  most  blessed 
change  for  the  better.  Go  where  we 
will,  we  expect,  almost  as  a  matter  of 
course,  a  monthly  celebration  in  every 
Parish.  But  on  what  sound  principle 
this  improvement  has  been  grounded, 
it  would  be  hard  to  say.  *   .     -; 

This  is  not  one  of  the  many  ques-- 
tions  of  choice  and  taste.  It  is  not 
necessarily  a  doctrinal  question,  which 
earnest  minds  in  different  schools  of 
the  Church  of  England  need  embrace 
or  reject.  A  weekly  celebration  is  no 
party  badge  4  We  have  only  to  enquire 
(1.)  w^hat  was  the  Apostolic  and  Prim- 
itive practice  as  to  the  frequent  cele- 
bration of  the  Holy  Communion,  and 
(2.)  how  iar  our  Liturgy  is  in  accord^ 


PREFACE.  5 

unco  with  the  same ;  and  then,  in  God's 
strength,  strive  with  all  our  might  ^ 
Clergy  and  Laity  together  —  to  stand 
in  the  ways,  and  see,  and  ask  for  the 
old  paths,  where  is  the  good  way,  and 
walk  therein,  and  find  rest  for  our  souls. 
(Jeremiah  vi.  16.)     ^  ^    -  r*        '^ 

If  one  or  more  of  the  extracts  seem 
in  any  degree  to  bear  upon  a  Daily 
Celebration  of  the  Holy  Communion, 
the  Compiler  would  take  this  oppor- 
tunity of  obsei'ving  that  his  one  object 
has  been  to  bring  into  prominence  The 
Sunday  and  Festival  Celebration, 
a  designation  which  fas  Archdeacon 
Freeman,  in  the  Principles  of  Divine 
Service,  p.  187,  observes)  leaves  ample 
verge  for  diversity  within  certain  in- 
telligible limits,  may  safely  be  affirmed 
to  be,  as  a  general  rule,  the  prescript 
of  the  Church,  and  to  exhibit  with  the 


0  PREFACB. 

greatest  fidelity  the  time  character  and 
purpose  of  the  Holy  Eucharist, 

On  this  principle  we  want  no  Eo- 
vision  of  the  Liturgy.  Not  a  line  need 
be  altered.  The  Book  of  Common 
Prayer,  with  her  weekly-varying  Col- 
lect, Epistle,  and  Gospel,  supplies  eveiy 
essential.  But  as  practical  objectiona 
are  likely  to  arise,  the  Compiler,  living 
in  a  large  Country  Mission,  where  a 
weekly  Celebration  has  for  some  time 
been  the  rule,  may  perhaps  be  allowed 
to  add  his  testimony  to  that  of  hun- 
dreds of  Parish  Priests,  as  to  the  fact 
that  frequent  Communions  do  "answer.*' 
Think  of  the  servants,  house-keepers, 
and  nurses  who  are  at  present  unable 
to  attend  regularly  the  ordinary  monthly 
Celebrations  !  In  a  large  Parish  thei'e 
are  many  invalids  and  aged  persons 
who  sometimes    live  a  long  distance 


q?REFACE.  7 

from  the  House  of  God.      A  lengthy 
mid-day  service,  with  a  large  number 
of  Communicants  jirescnt,  is  often  felt 
to  be  a  weariness.      A  weekly  Cele- 
bration, with  a  judicious  arrangement 
of  the  services,  would,  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, remedy  this  last  mentioned  evil. 
As  to  the  first,  why  should  there  not 
be  in  evei-y  town,  an  early  Celebra,tion 
on  each  recurring  Lord's  Day  morning? 
It  would  be  an  advantage  if  it  was 
generally  known,  far  and  near,  that  on 
each  Loud's  Day  morning  —  summer 
and  winter — the  Holy  Communion  was 
celebrated  at  the  same  hour.    Strangers 
and  travellers  are  often  perplexed  at 
the  frequent  changes  and  strange  var- 
iableness of  the  hours   of  celebration 
in  many  towns.     Thus,  even  where  a 
weekly  Celebration  has  been  established, 
4te  ufc^fuluess  is  certainly  marred  by 


S  PREFACE. 

/ 

/ 

such  an  arrangement  as  the  following :— I 

I.  On  the  first  Sunday  in  the  mbnth,  the 
;}- > ;  Holy  Communion  is  celebrated  at 

the  Parish  Church  at 9,  a.m. 

II.  On  the  second  Sunday  in  the  month, 
?       the  Holy  Communion  is  celebrated 

at  the  Parish  Church  at. . .  11,  a.m. 
in.  On  the  third  Sunday  in  the  month, 

the  Holy  Communion  is  celebrated 

at  St.  John's  Chapel  at. . .  16',  a.m. 
IV.  On  the  fourth  Sunday  in  the  month, 

the  Holy  Communion  is  celebrated 
.    at  the  Parish  Church  at .  • . .  9,  a.m.  , 

^  The  continuity  of  a  weekly  celebra- 
tion is  thus  sadly  broken  in  upon; 
whereas  if  all  the  year  round  every  ono 
knew  that  at  (say)  8  o'clock  an  early 
celebration  might  be  expected,  it  would 
neither  over-fatigue  the  parish  priest,  or 
interfere  with  any  of  the  ordinary  do- 


/ 


PREFACE.  ^0 


%nestic  arrangements  of  society,  as  at 
present  constituted.    '>^  ^   *  '   ■'        ^   '^ 

Many,  of  course,  arc  the  blessings 
and  advantages  of  attending  the  highest 
of  all  the  means  of  grace  ;  and  therefore 
in  coimtries  where  the  climate  is  liable 
to  frequent  and  sadden  changes,  every 
inducement  should  be  offered  to  those 
who,  from  local  circumstances,  are  fre- 
quently prevented  from  attending  even 
a  regular  monthly  Communion. 

Let  any  British  North  American 
clergyman  remember  that  next  Easter- 
day  (on  which  all  his  communicants  arc 
supposed  to  be  in  church)  the  weather 
is  liable  to  any  of  the  strange  peculiari- 
ties of  the  season,  and  he  will  see  at 
once  that  if  one  of  his  flock  be  prevented 
from  attending  Divine  worship  through 
no  fault  of  his  own,  it  surely  must  bo  a  , 
serious  consideration  whether  the  next 


I 


10  PREFACE. 

Sunday  service  (for  which  a  Proper 
Preface  is  provided),  and  the  next,  and  ^ 
the  next,  should  be  so  arranged  that  not 
one  of  the  Faithful  may  urge  as  an  ex- 
cuse that  he  came  to  church  on  any 
Lord's  day  morning,  and  found  not 
'*all  things  ready," 

- .  '^  .  ,  ■■■ani- 


i:!^ 


■     w 

■  unifsi  1.1 

■•■I      <  -i^r-,-^^     ■;■■» 

■.trfip'»{r<'«rf 

,.  >''!.t:'">fo 

• 

it    >     .* 

;  %i 

A    / 


BIES   PANIS. 


QUESTION.— How  often  shall  I  com^ 
^'      niunicate? 

ANSWER.-^  On  every  JLonn'S  Day 9  at 
the  least,  when  possible* 


'  I.  STATEICEITT  FEOM  HOLY  SOEIPTIIEE. 

i  '^Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week .... 
the  disciples  came  together  to  break 
bread." — ^Actsx^.l. 

n,  STATEMENTS  PEOM  THE  EAELT  AGES 

OF  THE  OHDECH. 


rirrt.     t;-.^:    frf'-T^ 


"  "On  the  day  which  is  called  Sunday 
....  when  we  have  ceased  from  prayer, 
bread  is  brought  in,  and  wine  and  water, 
and  our  principal  in  like  manner  offers  up 
prayers  and  praises  with  all  his  power. 
The  consecrated  elements  are  then  dis- 
tributed, and  received  by  each. — Justin 
Martyr,  A.  D.  140. 


12  DIES   PANIS. 

"Oii  the  Lord's  Day  we  meet  the  more 
(liligeiitlj^  ....  in  which  is  performed 

the  gift  of  the  Holy  Food 

All  baptized  persons  who  enter  God's 
Holy  Church,  and  hear  the  Sacred  Scrip- 
tures, but  do  not  remain  to  pray  and 
partake  of  the  Holy  Communion,  ought 
to  be  put  away  as  introducers  of  confu- 
sion into  the  church." —  The  Aj)ostolical 
Constitutions^  A.  D.  150. 

'^I  persuade  and  exhort  all  to  commu- 
nicate on  the  Lord's  Days,  if  the  mind 
})e  free  from  aflection  to  sin." — Genua- 
diusy  A.  D.  360. 

^'  Except  those  who  arc  recommended 
by  their  priest  not  to  communicate,  all 
Christians  ought  to  make  their  oblation, 
and  to  communicate  every  Sunday."  — 
^.  Ambrose,  A.  D.  397. 

^^Some  communicate  in  the  Body  and 
Blood  of  the  Lord  daily.  Some  receive 
on  certain  days.  Li  some  places  no  day  is 
passed  on  which  it  [the  Holy  Eucharist] 
is^uot  offered ;  in  other  places  on  the  Sal>- 
bath  and  the  Lord's  Day ;  in  others  ou 


DIES  PANI3.  13 

the  Lord's  Day  only." — jS.  Augustine^ 
.  D.  430. 


in.    STATEMENTS  PROM  THE  BOOK  OF 
COMMON  PEATEE,  ETO. 

"  Then  shall  be  said  the  Collect  of  tho 
day."  —  Rubric  before  Nicene  Greed. 
[The  Church  of  England,  in  having  pro- 
vided for  every  Lord's  Day  a  different 
Collect,  as  part  of  the  Holy  Communiou 
office,  has  intended  a  celebration  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  on  every  Lord's  Day] . 
See  also  "  The  Contents  of  this  Book." 
/'XIV.  The  Collects,  Epistles,  and  Gos- 
.pels,  to  be  used  at  the  ministration  of 
the  Holy  Communion,  thrc  ughout  the 
year."  "Note  also.  That  tie  Collect, 
Epistle,  and  Gospel,  appointcv^  for  the 
Sunday,  shall  serve  all  the  week  after, 
where  it  is  not  in  this  Book  otherwise 
ordered." 

"  Upon  Christmas  Day  and  seven  days 
after."  "Upon  Easter  Day  and  seven 
daj^s  after."  "Upon  Ascension  Day  and 
seven  days  after.'^    "Upon  Whitsunday 


H  DIES   PANIS. 

and  six  days  after."  "Upon  the  Feast 
of  Trinity  only." — 'Proper  Prefaces  in 
the  order  of  the  administration  of  the 
Lord^s  jSujyptr,  ['^Thc  Church,  order- 
ing every  parishioner  to  cominunicato 
at  least  three  times  in  the  year,  is  far 
from  requiring  them  not  to  communicate 
oftencr." —  Collis.']  See  Kemarks  of 
Bishop  Wilson  on  the  eighth  Kubric  after 
"The  Communion"  in  iMants'  Book  of 
Common  Prayer,  Oxford  4to  edit. 

"And  in  (Cathedral  and  Collegiate 
Churches  and  Jolleges,  where  there  arc 
many  Priests  and  I^cacons,  they  shall 
all  receive  the  Communion  with  the 
Priests  every  Sunday  at  the  least,  except 
they  have  a  reasonable  cause  to  the  con- 
trary."—  Fourth  liubric  after  "^^Tha 
Conuminion,^^ 

"The  Curates  shall  diligently  from  timo 
to  time ....  exhort  their  parishioitt>rs  to 
the  often  receiving  of  the  Holy  Commu- 
nion of  the  Bodv  and  Blood  of  our  Sav- 
lOUK  Christ,  when  it  shall  be  publickly 
administered  in  the  Church."  —  Iticbrio 
before  the  Communion  of  the  Sick. 


DIES    PANIS.  15 

\  "All  niJinncr  of  persons  witJun  tho 
Church  of  England  shall  from  hence- 
forth celebrate  and  ke3p  the  Lord's  Day ; 
. . .  .that  is. ...  in  oftentimes  receiving 
the  Communion  of  the  Body  and  Blood 
of  CiiuiST." — Constitittions  and  Canons 
Ecclesiastical ^  N^o.  xiii.  On  due  cele-^ 
hration  of  Sundays  and  Holy  Days. 

"But,  before  ill  other  things,  this  wo 
must  be  sure  oi  especially,  that  this  sup- 
per be  in  such  wise  done  and  ministered, 
as  our  Loud  and  Saviour  did,  and  com- 
manded to  be  done,  as  His  holy  Apostles 
used  it,  and  the  good  fathers  in  the  prim- 
itive church  frequented  it.... The  truo 
understanding  of  this  fuition  and  union, 
which  is  betwixt  the  body  and  the  bread, 
betwixt  the  true  believers  and  Christ, 
the  ancient  Catholic  fathers  both  per- 
ceiving: themselves  and  commendin«:  to 
their  people,  were  not  afraid  to  call  this 
supper,  some  of  them,  the  salve  of  im- 
mortality and  sovereign  preservative 
against  death  ;  other,  a  deiflcal  commu- 
nion ;  other,  the  sweet  dainties  of  our 


IG  I>IES    P.VN1S. 

Saviour,  the  pledge  of  eternal  wealth, 
the  defence  of  faith,  the  hope  of  the 
resurrection ;  other,  the  food  of  immor- 
tality, the  beautiful  grace,  and  the  con- 
servatory of  everlasting  life.  All  which 
sayings ....  of  godly  men,  truly  attribu- 
ted to  this  celestial  banquet  and  feast, 
if  Ave  would  often  call  to  mind,  O,  how 
would  they  influence  our  hearts  to  desire 
the  participation  of  these  mysteries,  and 
oftentimes  to  covet  after  this  bread,  con- 
tinually to  thirst  for  this  food!" — An 
Homily  of  the  worthy  receiving  and  rev-* 
ere7it  esteeming  of  the  Sacrament  of  the 
Body  and  Blood  of  Christ.  The  Second 
Tome,  No.  xv.     Oxford  edit. 

IV.    OPINIONS    OF    MEMBERS    OF    THE 
CHUEOH    OF    ENGLAND. 

^'  Some  religious  persons  have  raised 
a  question,  whether  it  were  better  to 
communicate  often  or  seldom.  Somo 
thinking  it  more  reverence  to  these  holy 
mysteries  to  come  but  seldom,  while 
others  say  it  is  greater  religion  or  char- 


t)IES    TANIS.  17 

ity  to  come  frcqiienlly.  But  I  suppose 
this  (lucstioii  docs  not  cliHer  iiuich  from 
a  dispute,  whether  it  is  better  to  pray 
often  or  to  pray  seldom.  For  Avhiitevcr 
is  pretended  ngainst  a  frequent  com- 
munion, miiy,  in  its  proportion,  oI)ject 
against  a  solemn  prayer. . . .  Concerning 
the  connnunion  of  secular  and  hiy  per- 
sons, S.  Austin  gave  this  answer  to  it: 
^To  receive  the  Sacrament  every  day  I 
neither  praise  nor  reprove,  but  at  least  let 
them  receive  it  every  Lord's  Day,''  And 
this  he  spake  to  husbandmen  and  mer- 
chants.^'— Bishop  Jeremy  Taylor  on  Life 
of  Christ.     Hebers  cd.  vol.  iii.  p.  311. 

"The  Apostolic  custom  of  conmiuni- 
cating  was  at  their  Agapes  and  love 
feasts ....  Out  of  the  oiterings  brought, 
so  much  as  was  thought  convenient  for 
the  Sacrament  w^as  taken  by  the  party 
who  ofHciated,  and  the  remains  were 
deputed  both  for  the  refreshment  of  the 
congregation  and  also  for  relief  of  the 
poor :  and  these  oblations  w^ere  by  the 
Apostles'  constitution  to  be  set  apart, 


18  Dl^S    PANIS. 

Kara  iniav  ^nP^aticv.  CVCiy  Lokd's  Day."— » 

L^ Estrange  s  Allidiice of  Dlvuvi  Oijices. 
Libr.  Aug.  Oith.  Thcoioiify,  p.  272. 

"  The  primitive  Cliristijins . .  • .  did  as 
seldom  meet  to  preach  or  pray  without 
a  communion,  as  did  the  okl  Israelites 
to  worship  without  a  sacrifice." — Dr, 
Daniel  lirivint, 

"As  Ijishop  Cosin  remarks:  ^Tlieso^ 
Liturgies  were  Avont  iu  the  ancient 
church  to  be  said  at  the  celebration  of 
the  Lord's  Sui)per,  w^hich  our  church  ap- 
points on  evei'v  Lord's  Day." — Bishop 
Cosin  on  the  Liturcfii.  quoted  from  Bis^ 
se^s  Bi¥tutii  of  Holiness^  \)\).  124.  128. 

In  the  Preface  is  the  f  )llo\vin2: : — 

"Thesis  6.  No  church  u])()n  the  face  of 
the  earth,  from  the  time  of  the  Apostles 
to  the  time  of  the  lleformation,  uor  to 
this  day,  except  among  Protestants,  is 
knowm  to  have  kept  the  Lord's  Day, 
or  had  any  ordinary  assemblies  for  the 
solemn  worship  of  God,  without  it. . . . 
That  the  Cler<2:v  of  the  Church  of  En<2:- 
laud,  and  especially  of  this  city,  and  tho 


DIES    TAXIS,  19 

imivorsitlcs,  arc  more  guilty  in  this  res- 
pect than  the  rest,  because  their  neglect 
is  not  only  contrary  to  the  practice  of 
the  Apostles,  and  primitive  christians, 
and  of  the  whole  Catholic  Church  of 
Christ,  but  even  to  the  constitution  of 
their  own  Church." —  The  Lltnn/f/  of  the 
Ancienfs  represented,  as  nearh/  as  well  may  be^ 
in  Un^/lishjorm'i:  with  a  Preface  coucerjtuir/ 
the  restitution  of  the  Christian  worship  in  the 
JIoli/  Eucharist  to  its  inte^jritij  and  jttst  fre- 
quenry  of  celebration,  rriutcd  in  L'jiKhni, 
A.  1).  lOiiO. 

^"It  is  most  evident,  by  all  the  records 
of  the  church,  that  it  was  the  Apostolic 
and  primitive  custom  to  partake  of  this 
most  holy  ordinance  every  Loiid's  O  ly, 
and  that  their  mL>etings  were  chielly  de- 
signed for  this." —  Bishop  Hopkins  on  the 
Fourth  Commandment, 

"This  frequency  of  Communion  may 
reasonably  be  supposed  to  be  then,  ac- 
cording to  the  known  practice,  once  a 
week,  on  every  Lord's  Day ....  The  re- 
gaining of  that  Avhich  was  so  much  the 
glory  of  the  primitive  church,  and  the 


20  DIES  PAxrs. 

gi'cat  support  of  christian  innocence  and 
piety  (as  frequent  weekly  communion 
most  certainly  Avas)  nuist  be  a  thinj^ 
Avorthy  the  most  serious  thoughts  and 
e()nsi(l(»ration  of  all  tliose  into  whoso 
hiuids  (^OD  has  put  power  and  auliiority, 
by  a  superior  influence,  to  redress  abuses, 
"when  they  can  saf(dy  do  it  to  edification, 
and  not  to  destruction.  If  1  were  woithy 
to  iii\  e  any  advice  in  the  case,  it  should 
l)e  this  :  first,  to  restore  the  practice  of 
the  true  ancient  disci[)linc  :  and, -after 
that,  the  way  would  lie  open  to  revive 
the  ]>ractice  of  the  true  primitive  way 
of  conununicatinc:  weekly  every  Lord's 
Day."  —  J } L li (jham'' s AnHquit ies oftlie  Chris- 
tian Chvrchy  book  xv.  cliap.  ix.  sections  2,  7. 

"If  there  be  no  Communion  on  any 
Sunday  in  the  year,  the  people  only  are 
to  bo  blamed.  The  Church  hath  done 
her  ]^art  in  ordering  it." — Wheat!)/  on  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  Bohn's  edit.  p.  313. 

"  The  Communion  is  appointed  for 
everji  Simday."  —  Hookas  Church  Diction- 
ary, Article  on  Communion,  eighth  edit. 


DIES   TAXIS.  21 

**It  was  called  *Dics  Panis'  from  Iho 
custoni  in  the  primitive  chiireh  to  receive 
the  Sacrament  of  the  Kuchari.st  on  every 
Lord's  Day  throughout  the  year  ;  a  cus- 
tom so  universally  recoirnized  that  they 
who  came  to  cliurch  to  hear  llie  Scrip- 
tures read,  and  stayed  not  to  join  in  the 
prayers,  and  to  receive  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, Avcre  excommunicated,  as  the 

authors  of  disorder  in  the  Church."  — 
JSishop  Nixon  on  the  Church  Catcrhisni, p.  4G9. 

"^lost  Christians  received  it  [the  Sac- 
rament of  the  Loin/s  Sup})cr]  every 
Loiid's  Day."  —  Ti/cb'  Short  J^Jcclemtdical 
lit  dor  f/ from  the  conclusion  of  the  Acts  of  the 
jljwsllcs  to  the  Council  of  Nice,  in  A.  D,  ul!5, 
cliJii).  xiii.  Knlcs  luid  Customs  in  the  Church. 

"These  thinjj^s  were  done  on  the 
Loiid's  Day  (Chrys.).  Observe  the  in- 
timation here  given,  that  the  primitive 
christians  assembled  specially  on  the 
Lord's  Day  for  the  reception  of  the 
Holy  Eucharist  (see  ii.  4(>),  and  for 
hearing  of  the  Word.''  —  Archdeacon 
Wordsworth" s  Commentary  on  the  Acts  ofthQ 
^jyostles,  chap.  xx.  7, 


22  DIES    PANIS. 

"  These  words  seem  fmrly  to  intimate 
that  the  first  day  of  the  week,  or,  the 
Lord's  2)a//,  was  set  apart  or  sanctified 
for  religious  worship  :  but  then,  finding 
Justin  Martyr,  who  wrote  but  forty  years 
after  the  death  of  S.  John,  telling  us  in 
his  Apology,  that  'On  Sunday  all  the 
christians  in  city  or  country  meet  toge- 
ther, ....  and ....  we  receive  the.  Sacra- 
ment.', .  .  .Now,  finding  this,  I  say,  sta- 
ted by  Justin  Martyr  and  the  Fathers  in 
general,  it  clears  up  the  foregoing  text 
beyond  dispute,  for  the  religious  ob- 
servation of  the  Lord's  Day  in  the 
time  of  the  Apostles.'' — TvanHlation  of 
theAi^ology  of  Justin  Martyr ^  by  W.  Reeves. 
Prclhcc  on  Acts  xx.  7. 

"The  fact  is,  that  people  vcr}  gener- 
ally mistake  the  whole  nature  and  object 
of  the  Saciament  of  the  Holy  Eucharist. 
They  think  it  a  thing  to  be  confined  to 
great  and  particular  occasions.  Let  me 
tell  you  how  this  idea  has  grown  up. 
Of  late  years  it  has  been  customary  in 
some  places  only  to  celebrate  the  Holy 


DIES   PANIS.  23 

Communion  on  the  great  Festivals  ;  and 
,  some  have  really  imagined  tliat  this  was 
4  the  right  way.     And  yet  it  appears  from 
Holy  Scripture  and  other  sources  that 
the  early  christians  communicated,  when 
not  every  day,  at  least  every  Lord's 
Day.     That  we  have   so   far  departed 
.from  this  custom,  regarding  the  rest  of 
/Our  conduct,  is  not  perhaps  very  sur- 
prising ;  but  the  manner  in  which  it  has 
^been  clone  is  rather  surprFsing.  .  .  .There 
is  a  canon   still  in  force  by  which  tho 
<:'hurchwardens  in  every  parish  are  re- 
quired to  present   those    persons   who 
iibsent  themselves  from  the  Holy  Com- 
munion.    The  times  fixed  are  the  three 
^jlrcat  Festivals   of  Christmas,  Easter, 
mul  Trinity  ;  and  now  by  a  strange  per- 
version it  has  come  to  be  imagined  that 
what  was  the  least  that  would  be  allowed 
for  any  person,  was  really  as  much  as  is 
required  or  desired." —  The  Theory  of 
Christian  Worshi]),  b}'  Rev.  T.  Cham- 
Jberlain,  Sermon  x.,  ou  "Our  Life,"  p. 
127, 


24  DIES   PANIS. 

*^  The  most  legitimate  endeavour  of  a 
Chm-ch  emulous  of  apostolic  practice, — 
the  first  axiom  of  christian  ritualism 
and  apostolic  polity  and  discipline, — is 
surely  the  restoration  of  weekly  Cele- 
bration and  Communion ;  the  one  as  a 
matter  of  faithfulness  as  a  church,  the 
other  as  the  badge  of  christian  member- 
ship ....  External  evidence  towards  the 
close  of  the  apostolic  times  comes  in  to 
prove  conclusively  that  then,  at  least, 
Aveekly  Eucharist  was  the  ordinary  rule. 
....  The  church  at  lari^^e  was  slow  to 
admit  any  innovation  in  the  apostolic 
usage.  This  appears  from  an  expression 
in  the  verv  ancient  Eucharistic  office  of 
the  Alexandrian  church,  the  Liturgy  of 
S.  Mark  intimating  that  celebration  was 
confined  to  Sundays  or  Festivals .... 
Nothing  short  of  an  entire  and  radical 
misconception  as  to  the  apostolic  idea 
of  Christian  worship  and  service  as  a 
whole,  could  have  brought  in  infrequent 
celebration  of  the  Holy  Communion 
which  characterizes  the  English  Church 


DIES   PAKIS,  ^25 

at  the  present  day.  I  say  acquiescence 
in  such  infrcquency ;  for  that  is  the  pe- 
culiar character  of  our  shortcoming  iu 
the  matter.  While  other  churches,  to 
secure  apostolic  frequency,  have  resorted 
to  unapostolic  and  unjustiiia))le  modes 
of  celebrating,  we  have  secured  apostolic 
and  genuine  celebration,  ])ut  apostolic 
frequency  we  have,  speaking  generally, 
been  careless  of . . . .  AVith  'one  Loud,  one 
Faith,  one  Baptism,'  was  conjoined  one 
^Lord's  Day  Eucharistic  Festival ;  the 
last,  like  all  the  rest,  made  equal  for  all 
• . . .  To  this  apostolic  standard,  then, 
neither  less  nor  more,  broadly  accepted, 
^and  acted  on  in  its  general  spirit,  I  would 
fain  urge  the  English  church  to  return. 
For  doing  so  she  stands,  in  one  respect, 
at  a  singular  and  immeasurable  advan- 
tage. It  is  this  :  that  she  has  no  need, 
in  order  to  its  full  accomplishment,  to 
alter  an  iota  of  her  existing  theory  iu 
•the  matter  of  ritual,  but  only  to  give 
practical  effect  to  it.  She  has,  though 
;  much  to  do,  yet  nothing  to  undo ;  no 


26  DIES   PAOTS. 

mutilated  Sacrament  to  restore ,  no  aban- 
doned or  abolished  ordinary  worship  to 
recah  She  need  not  change  her  course 
by  a  single  point,  but  only 

*  St  *"      ;ir  up,  and  steer 
Right  onward.' 

....  We  have  too  much,  it  must  be  sa?d, 
invested  it  with  circumstances  of  dis- 
couragement. It  has  too  much  been 
represented  as  a  provision  for  an  occa- 
sional ecstatic  state  of  sanctity  ;  too  lit- 
tle in  its  real  character,  as  the  ordained 
instrument  of  appropriating  afresh,  at 
6r/e/ intervals,  —  and  those  of  scarcely 
less  than  Divine  appointment,  —  the 
Christian  estate  of  salvation,  and  of  dis- 
charging its  duties  in  their  highest  and 
only  complete  form.  A  solemn  and  a 
festival  thing  doubtless  it  is  designed  to 
be  ;  but  it  is  a  solemnity  and  a  festival 
of  ordained  weekly  recurrence,  at  the 
least.  It  is  this  that  we  have  need  to 
realize;  viz.,  that  in  apostolic  days  the 
return  of  the  weekly  Festival  of  Christ's 
Eesurrection,  and  of  the  Descent  of  th© 


DIES  PANIS.  2t 

!o^y  spirit,  without  Eiicharistic  cele- 
iratioii  and  participation,  would  havo 
leen  looked  upon  as  scarcely  less  than 
n  abandonmcut  of  the  whole  Christian 

{)osition.  Surely  we  should  then  bo 
ess  disposed  to  acquiesce  in  such  ideas 
as  that  of  monthly  Communion,  as  being 
fc  tolerably  satisfactory  measure  of  Chris- 
tian privilege  ;  and  contend  with  moro 
-earnestness,  from  a  more  strongly  for- 
tified position,  and  with  greater  success, 
for  the  weekly  practice.  Is  there  any 
reason  to  doubt  that  the  same  kind  of 
persons  Avhom  we  now  unhesitatingly 
lind  eflectually  invite  to  monthly  recey- 
iion,  might  with  equal  safety  to  their 
iouls,  and  with  equal  success,  be  pre- 
Tailed  upon  to  become  weekly  Commu- 
iiicants  ?  It  is  the  habit,  which  in  various 
ways  (as  e.  g.  by  books  containing  a 
Hveek's  preparation'  for  communicating) 
has  been  spread  abroad,  of  viewing  Com- 
©lunion  a^  in  its  nature  a  rare  event ;  — 
it  is  this,  and  not  any  unmeetness  or 
Hisiuclinatiou  for  more  frequent  recep- 


-   ,28  DIES   PANI3. 

tion,  at  any  rate  in  the  case  of  the  more 
devout  members  of  our  congregations, 
which  makes  the  general  restoration  of 
weekly  Communion  appear  so  formida- 
ble and  difficult.  Let  the  practice,  and 
the  irresistibly  strong  grounds  on  which 
it  rests,  be  fairly  set  before  them,  and 
there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  call 
would  be  responded  to  ;  more  especially 
since  monthly  Communion  has  no  defi- 
nite standing-ground  of  recommenda- 
tion, any  more  than  quarterly,  or  the 
like.  Both  are,  though  in  dillerent  de- 
grees, a  corrupt  and  unhealthy  state  of 
Christian  privilege  ;  whereas  weekly  re- 
ception has  the  claim  and  the  strength  of 
apostolic  sanction  and  example." — The 
J^rtnciples  of  Divine  Service^  by  Arch- 
deacon Freeman,  vol.  i.  pp.  151-388. 

"xiny  argument  which  destroys  weekly 
Communion,  destroys  moyithlij ;  and  any 
argument  Avliich  destroys  monthly^  de- 
stroys annual  Commnion.  As  to  the 
latter,  I  hold  it  to  be  nothing  more  than 
au  outward  sign  of  conformity  to  worldly 


DIES   TANIS.  29 

custom.  It  has  very  little  indeed  of  tho 
true  spirit  of  the  love  of  Goo,  and  still 
less  of  the  faith  of  the  Church.  It  cer- 
tainly is  not  what  the  Holy  Scriptures 
tell  us  it  ou2^ht  to  be." — The  Old  Church 
Porch,  vol.  iv.  p.  427. 

"  Holy  Communion  is  •  • . .  the  great 
distinguishing  act  of  Christian  worship 
on  the  Loud's  Day . . .  •  Holy  Communion 
has  now  in  theory  the  same  place  in  the 
Church's  Sunday  worship  as  it  had  in 
primitive  or  New  Testament  times.  It 
is  true  that  this  has  been,  to  a  lamentable 
extent,  only  the  theory  of  the  Church ; 
in  practice  it  has  not  been  carried  out ; 
but  the  Prayer-book  is  not  to  blame  for 
this.  Each  minister,  no  matter  how 
infrequent  his  actual  administration  of 
Holy  Communion,  is  obliged  to  read  a 
j)art,  viz.,  the  commencement,  of  the 
Communion  Service  before  he  preaches, 
thereb}^  forcing  the  more  thinking  of  his 
flock  to  ask,  why  does  he  omit  the  rest? 
why  does  he  begin  a  separate  and  dis- 
tinct service,  and  break  ofl*  short  in  tho 


So  DIES  PANIS, 

middle  of  it?  Our  usual  practice  of 
reading  the  boginiiii)g  of  the  Holy  Com- 
munion Service  and  not  adniinisterin^r 
the  Sacrament,  is  like  *  saying  grace ' 
when  there  is  no  food  on  the  tal)le." — 
Church  Doctrine — Bible  Truth^hyllQy. 
M.  F.  Sadler,  pp.  186-187,  2d  edit. 

"Forlifteen  centuries  no  such  thing 
•was  ever  known  as  for  Christians  to 
meet  together  for  worship  on  the  Loiiiys 
Day  without  this  memorial  of  the  death 
of  Christ ....  For  the  last  three  centu- 
ries, in  England,  this  characteristic  act 
of  our  worship  has  been  all  but  set  aside, 
and  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  supply 
its  place  by  Psalms,  and  Litanies,  and 
Sermons,  and  Scripture  Readings.  But 
sm^ely  to  read  and  preach  about  the 
death  of  Ciinisx,  and  to  recite  Prayers 
and  Psalms,  in  memory  of  that  death, 
without  oflering  that  one  memorial  of  it 
which  our  Lord  Himself  ordained,  this 
is  much  the  same  thing  as  to  read  and 
speak  about  food  to  a  fainting  man, 
^yithout  giving  him  the  food  itself  ou 


DIES   PANIS.  31 

wliicli  his  strength  depends." —  The  Me- 
diation  of  the  Churchy  by  llcv.  E.  Stu- 
art, p.  48,  2d  edit. 

"It  may  be  taken  «is  an  apostolic  in- 
stitution, that,  on  the  first  day  of  every 
"vveek,  the  Festiv^al  of  the  Loud's  Resur- 
rection, tlie  Sacrament  of  the  Body  and 
Bh){)d  of  CiinisT,  should  be  always 
openly  celebrated  ...•  Without  this  no 
Loiid's  Day  was  held  to  be  duly  ^'cle- 
brated.  The  Festival  of  Christ's  Kes- 
urrection,  in  their  eyes,  would  have  been 
robbed  of  its  perfection,  and  spoiled  of 
its  crown,  had  they  been  defrauded  of 
the  pledges  of  their  Kedeemer's  love, 
and  of  the  food  of  their  spiritual  life." — 
A.  Feiv^  Words  on  the  Objections  to  Fre^ 
quent  Uommnnion^  p.  6. 

"  AVhat  can  be  expected  also,  so  long 
as  there  continue  to  be  numerous  par- 
ishes in  our  land,  where  the  opportunity 
of  fellowship  with  Christ  through  the 
Holy  Communion  is  only  offered  quar- 
terly to  the  people?  What  life  can  bo 
anticipated  in  the  Christian  society .  •  •  • 


'A.    :, 


32  DIES   PANtS. 

while  tins  enforced  ohcdience  to  tho 
letter  of  our  Canon  shows  thjit  the  qnick- 
cning  principle  of  the  Church's  vitality 
is  so  little  appreciated?  What  a  depart- 
ure this  from  that  early  precedent,  Avheu 
the  Disciples  at  Troas  came  together 
weekly  to  break  bread  !" —  The  Doctrine 
of  the  Incarnation^  by  Archdeacon  AVil- 
berforce.     4th  edit.     1852.     P.  442. 

"The  Refreshment  from  which  this 
Sunday  [Fourth  Sunday  in  Lent]  takes 
its  name,  is  the  'Strengthening  and  Ke- 
freshing  of  our  souls  by  the  liody  and 
Blood  of  CiiuiST  ;'  not,  indeed,  that  this 
day  was  particularly  appointed  for  the 
Celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  — 
every  Stmday  and  every  Festival  was 
that." —  Seasons  of  the  Churchy  vol.  i. 
p.  46().  See  also  James  on  the  Collects^ 
p.  105. 

'  "Religiously  regarded,  it  was  a  day 
of  solemn  meeting  for  the  Holy  Eucha- 
rist, for  united  prayer,  for  instruction, 
for  almsgiving." — Smith'' s  Dictionary 
of  the  Bible.  Article  ou  the  Lokd's 
!Day,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Hessey. 


'  DIES   TAXIS.  3S 

"I  am  not  aware  "vvhcn,  or  on  what 
principle,  the  monthly  Communion  was 
substituted  for  the  weekly  one  in  our 
parish  churches.  Perhaps  it  originated 
in  the  decline  of  practical  religion  con- 
sequent on  the  Great  Rebellion.  If 
weekly  Communion  had  not  unfortu- 
nately, and  untruly,  been  supposed  to 
be  a  ^party-badge'  (it  is  sad  to  be  ob- 
liged to  write  the  word  on  such  a  sub- 
ject) ,  it  would  have  been  more  gener- 
ally revived  than  it  has  been." — Direc* 
toriuni  Pastorale^  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Blunt, 
p.  187,  2d  edit. 

"  Serious  Christians  arc  coming  round 
gradually,  it  is  presumed  by  the  force  of 
conviction,  to  the  habit  of  communicat- 
ing much  oftener  than  they  used  to  do. 
....  The  old  manuals  of  preparation .... 
need  to  be  thrown  into  a  new  form,  ad- 
apted to  a  weekly  or  fortnightly  recur- 
rence of  the  ordinance." — Thoughts  on 
Personal  Beligion,  by  Dean  Goulburn,  Amer- 
ican edit.  p.  117-119.    '  ^      .  Sv.,,t,.  ,,,  i  . 

V  "  England  would  never  properly  ob- 
serve the  Lord's  Day  until  in  her  ghur- 


84  DIES   PAXIS. 

ches  on  that  day  she  '  showed  forth  the 
Lord's  death  till  He  come.'  With  our 
present  shortcomings  how  could  we  face 
those  ancient  Episcopal  Churches  in  the 
East  and  West,  who,  whatever  corrup- 
tions they  might  have  fallen  into,  were 
at  least  not  chargeable  with  infrcquency 
in  the  Celebration  of  the  Holy  Commu- 
nion."— Mr.  A.  J.  B.  Bcresford  Hope,  M^  P., 
Gudh'dian^  Oct.  10,  1866. 

"It  has  been  my  privilege  to  be  con- 
nected with  York  Minster  for  a  period 
of  not  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
and  during  that  period  we  have  had  re- 
gular weekly  communions." — Cathedrals 
— their  £roper  Work  and  Influence ^  by  the 
Dean  of  York. 

"  The  Christian  Church  has ,  as  it  seems 
to  me,  something. to  be  noticed  in  the 
way  of  positive  enactment  as  regards  the 
Lord's  Day  —  I  mean  the  Sunday  Com- 
munion. It  is  abundantly  clear  that  in 
the  first  ages  of  Christianity  every  one 
in  full  communion  with  the  Church  was 
expected  and  required  to  communicate 


,,/ 


DIES    PAXIS^  35 

fts  part  of  his  regular  worship  on  tho 
Lokd's  Day.  Our  own  Church  ....  as- 
suredly desires  and  encourages  it.  Much 
stress  may  justly  be  laid  on  this  point. 
It  may  serve  as  a  valuable  touchstone  by 
which  wo  may,  for  ourselves  and  others, 
try  and  determine  many  questions  of 
detail.  It  seems  almost  enough,  to  a 
Churchman  at  least,  if  he  enquires  ^How 
shall  I  spend  my  Sunday?'  to  reply 
'Begin  it  by  devoutly  communicating ; 
and  then  pass  it  as  befits  a  Communi- 
cant.' "  —  Reverend  T.  Espin  on  the  Lord's 
Day,  Chiardiarij  Oct.  10,  186C. 

^'Although  it  was  unwise  to  startle  the 
people  by  any  sudden  changes,  he  des- 
ired that  the  weekly  Celebration  of  the 
Holy  Communion,  so  clearly  intended 
by  the  Reformers,  as  shown  by  their 
celel^rated  Eubric  forbidding  solitary 
masses,  should  be  the  rule.  — Bishop  of 
Oxford's  Triennial  Charge,  1866.  From  sum- 
mary in  GlohCj  Dec.  4,  1866.  ,  - 

"I  know  that  some  of  you,  my  rever- 
end brethren,  are  disinclined  to  this 


SG  DIES   P^VNIS. 

increase  in  the  number  of  your  cele- 
brations, from  an  .  impression  that  the 
greater  frequency  tends  in  some  degree 
to  diminish  the  number  of  those  Avho 
communicate.  But,  deriving  my  con- 
clusions from  an  average  drawn  from  a 
large  number  of  instances,  I  can  assure 
that  the  veiy  opposite  is  the  fact.  It  is 
quite  true  that  the  numbers  present  at 
each  separate  celebration  may  not  be  in- 
creased by  the  increased  frequency  of 
celebrations,  but  the  whole  number  who 
communicate  within  the  year,  and  tho 
number  of  times  on  which  the  communi- 
cants attend  are  infallibly  multiplied.  I 
append  the  results  afforded  by  a  very 
carefully  kept  list  of  communicants  in  a 
parish  in  which  the  times  of  celebration 
were  multiplied :  — 

Average  of  twelve  months  hefoi'e  (a,)  and  after  (b.)  the 
change  in  l^b\from  monthly  to  fortnightly  Communion, 


a 

1.  Present  at  each  celebration  (omitting 

fractions) 28 

2.  Gross  number  of  communicants  in  twelve 

,  ,    months... • 432 


34 

looa 


DIES  PANIS.  ST 

Averatje  often  montlis  before  (a.)  and  after  (b.)  the  change 
in  \^b^  from  fortnightly  to  weekly  Cominu7iion, 

a        b 

1.  Gross  number  of  communicants  in  ten 

months  458      SiO 

2.  Number  of  separate  individuals  commu- 

nicating once  or  oftener  in  each  month  61  94 

3.  Present  at  each  celebration 35  31 

4.  Gross  monthly  average 75  141 

5.  Number  who  communicated  more  than 

once  in  the  month 14       27 

—  A  charge  delivered  at  the  THennial  Visita* 
Hon  of  the  Diocese^  November,  1860,  by  Samuel, 
Lord  Bishop  of  Oxford. 

^^  For  Archdeacon  Freeman's  persua- 
sive and  solid  arguments  in  favour  of  a 
weekly  Celebration,  the  Church  of  to- 
day is  his  debtor." — The  Liturgies  o/1549 
and  1662  contrasted  and  compared,  by  the 
Reverend  Orby  Shipley. 

*'We  want  in  every  Cathedral,  accor- 
ding,to  the  Rubric,  a  celebration  of  the 
Holy  Communion,  at  the  leasts  on  every 
Sunday  • . . .  We  want  this  —  more  fre- 
quent communions  —  more  than  stained 
glass,  or  grand  organs,  walls  cleansed 
of  whitewash,  or  a  fabric  restored ;  we 
want  a  loving  worship,  and  the  crown 
and  centre  of  all  worship ."—Ca^/iec?raZi?e- 
forniy  by  Rcvereud  Mackenzie  E.  C.  Walcott* 


138  DIES  PANIS. 

^'  Shall  wc .  • . .  with  our  still  infre- 
quent celebrations  of  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, infrequent  even  when  it  is 
plainly  otherwise  ordered ; . . , .  shall  we 
be  wise  to  pass  mordant  comments  on 
others  who  may  exceed  the  standard, 
when  we  ourselves  so  far,  so  very  far, 
fall  short  of  it  ?" —  Whose  is  this  Image  and 
Superscription  f  Sermon  by  the  Bishop  of 
Gloucester  and  Bristol,  from  The  Churchvian^ 
Nov.  8,  1866.        .  . 

"  There  are  very  few  directions  in 
the  Bible  about  the  arrangement  of 
public  christian  worship.  St.  Paul  tells 
us  that  all  things  are  to  be  done  decently 
and  in  order,  and  he  rebukes  the  un- 
seemly ^licence  of  some  members  of  the 
Corinthian  church.  We  gather  from  his 
words,  and  the  practice  of  the  first 
christian  converts,  that  the  Holy  Com- 
munion was  administered  every  Sunday, 
and  that  the  Faithful  were  asked  to 
make  some  offering  on  the  first  day  of 
every  week."  —  Public  Worship  and 
The  Offertory^  by  Eev.  Harry  Jones, 
2d  edit,  p,  3. 


DIES   PANIS.  39 

The  Compiler  does  not  hesitate  to 
quote  John  Wesley.  The  foot-note  in 
connection  with  the  title  of  his  Sermon 
on  "The  Duty  of  Constant  Communion'^ 
from  which  alone  these  extracts  are 
brought  to  a  close,  is  as  follows  : 

"  The  following  discourse  was  written 
above  five  and  fifty  years  ago,  for  the 
use  of  my  pupils  at  Oxford.  I  have 
added  very  little,  but  retrenched  much ; 
as  I  then  used  more  words  than  I  do 
now.  But,  I  thank  God,  I  have  not  yet 
seen  cause  to  alter  my  sentiments,  in 
any  point  which  is  therein  delivered,  — 
1788.     J.  W."...." I  shall, 

*^  I.  Shew  that  it  is  the  duty  of  every 
Christian  to  receive  the  Lord's  Supper 
as  often  as  he  can  . . .  •  because  it  is  a 
plain  command  of  Christ  ....  The  ben- 
efits of  doing  it  are ....  great . . . .  Now, 
when  we  are  convinced  of  having  sinned 
against  God,  what  surer  way  have  wo 
pf  procuring  pardon  from  Him,  than  the 
$honn7ig  forth  the  Lord's  death^  and 


40  DIES  PANJS,. 

beseeching  Him,  for  the  sake  of  His 
Son's  suffering,  to  blot  out  all  our  sins  ? 

*'n.  I  am,  in  the  second  place,  to  ans- 
wer the  common  objections  against  con- 
stantly receiving  the  Lord's  Supper. 

"  1.  There  are  those  who  plead  as  an 
excuse  that  they  'canliot  live  up  to  it; 
they  cannot  pretend  to  lead  so  holy  a 
life,  as  constantly  communicating  would 
oblige  them  to  do.'  Then  it  is  plain  you 
ought  never  to  receive  it  at  all.  For  it 
is  no  more  lawful  to  promise  once  what 
you  know  you  cannot  perform,  than  to 
promise  it  a  thousand  times . . .  •  If  there- 
fore you  cannon  live  up  to  the  profession 
they  make  who  communicate  once  a 
week,  neither  can  you  come  up  to  the 
profession  you  make,  who  communicate 
once  a  year. ...  It  requires  neither  more 
nor  less  perfect  obedience  than  you 
promised  at  your  baptism.  You  then 
undertook  to  keep  the  commandments 
of  God  by  His  help  ;  and  you  promise 
uo  more  when  you  communicate. 

"2.  A  second  objection,  which  is  of- 


DIES    PAXIS.  41 

ten  made  against  constant  Commmiion, 
is  the  haying  so  much  business,  as  will 
not  allow  time  for  such  a  preparation  as 
is  necessary  thereto ....  What  excuse  is 
this,  for  not  obeying  God?  Whatever 
you  do,  or  leave  undone  besides,  be 
sure  to  do  what  God  bids  you  do. 

"3.  A  third  objection  against  constant 
communion  is,  that  it  abates  our  rever- 
ence for  the  Sacrament.  Suppose  it 
did?  What  then?  Will  you  thence 
conclude,  that  you  are  not  to  receive  it 
constantly  ?  This  does  not  follow.  God 
commands  you  '  Do  this.'  You  may  dq 
it  now,  but  will  not;  and  to  excuse 
yourself,  say,  'If  I  do  it  so  often,  it  will 
abate  the  reverence  with  which  I  do  it 
now.'  Suppose  it  did ;  has  God  ever 
told  you,  that  w^hen  the  obeying  His 
command  abates  your  reverence  to  it, 
then  you  may  disobey  it?  If  He  has, 
you  are  guiltless  ;  if  not,  what  you  say 
is  just  nothing  to  the  purpose.  The  law 
is  clear.  Either  show  that  the  lawgiver 
makes  this  exception,  or  you  are  guilty- 
before  Him* 


42  DIES   PANIS. 

"4.  Another  objection,  ivhich  some 
have  made  against  constant  communion, 
is,  that  ^  the  Church  enjoins  it  only  three 
times  a  year.'  If  then  you  receive  three 
times  a  year,  because  the  Church  com- 
mands it,  receive  everj^  time  you  can, 
because  God  commands  it.  But ....  ^ye 
cannot  conclude  from  these  words  that 
the  Church  excuses  him  who  receives 
only  thrice  a  year.  The  plain  sense  of 
them  is,  that  he  who  does  not  receive 
thrice  at  least,  shall  be  cast  out  of  the 
Church ;  but  they  by  no  means  excuse 
him  who  communicates  no  oftener.  This 
never  was  the  judgment  of  the  Church  ; 
on  the  contrary,  she  takes  all  possible 
care  that  the  Sacrament  be  duly  admin- 
istered, whenever  the  Common  Prayer 
is  read,  every  Sunday  and  holiday  in 
the  year." —  Sermons  on  Several  Occa- 
sions^ by  the  Rev.  J.  Wesley,  13th  ed. 
vol.  ii.  sermon  cvi. 

In  addition  to  the  preceding  Extracts, 
the  Compiler  has  fallen  in  with  some  in- 
teresting  statements,   by  members   of 


DIES   PAXIS.  43 

various  religious  bodies  ;  some  of  them 
bearing  strongly  on  the  weekly  admin- 
istration of  the  Holy  Communion  on 
the  Lord's  Day.  They  are  omitted  aa 
not  directly  affecting  the  Church  of 
England. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  subject 
has  been  exhausted  by  these  few  Extracts, 
ov  that  the  Church  has  not  expressed  her 
mind  more  fully  and  plainly  throu  jh  her 
leading  Divines  on  the  frequency  of  the 
Celebration  of  the  Holy  Communion. 
The  contrary,  no  doubt,  is  the  fact :  and 
therefore  it  would  afford  unfeigned  plea^^- 
lU'e  to  the  present  Compiler  to  learn  that 
one  of  England's  far-famed  Theologians 
is  preparing  a  learned  and  thoughtful 
Treatise  on  the  subject. 

Wha|  gioWdiieu"  itf  *alj%9s  yo^Qmnacnd 
may  be '  safely* ' tdrUidkreS  at»  thV*  Ifeist , 
and  (tliie  ..C^m})3eK.hu«ibIy:k  fMt^ 

upon.  * '  "^  BlesseU  Is  tlittt  'seryaht,  •Whofhi 


44  DIES  TANIS. 

his  LoKD  when  lie  cometh  shall  find  so 
doing."  For  if  the  Service  \vhich  our 
Blessed  Lord  instituted  for  continual 
remembrance  of  Him  till  He  come  aii^ain 
be  laid  aside,  or  substituted  on  three 
Lord's  Days  out  of  every  four  by  human 
and  lesser  offices,  surely  an  impartial 
looker-on  must  imagine  that  Morning 
Prayer,  the  Litany,  the  Ante  (  ?)  Com- 
munion Office,  and  the  Sermon  are  either 
more  fitted  for  Christians  on  Dies  Panis 
in  these  last  days,  or  that  the  Church  of 
England  has,  to  a  sad  extent,  neglected 
to  show  forth  lnox  Lord's  Death  on  the 
weekly  recurrence  of  His  own  most  Holy 
Day — the  Lord's  Day. 

"  Let  us  pray  to  God, 
For  the  Church  of  England,  — 
/Ihe  8upi)'-y  oC  wha+  is  wanTj,ag:_  in  it, 
,  ■  ■  The  strengthening'  of  what  iemah»s  In  it.-' 

— 'Daily  Frayers  and  3fedltations  of  Bishop 


